Salem: A Haunted Town in Massachusetts
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What would you think of if you heard the name Salem? Witches? Haunted? or Tourists trap? Let me show you what kind of experience I had there!
Before I went to New Hampshire to be a TA for the Thai Scholars summer camp, I got a few days off and had nothing to do. My friend, Purim, and I decided to go to Boston to visit our friends in Boston college. For some reason, we got so bored and searched for interesting places to go in Massachusetts, and Purim shouted with excitement, “Salem, let’s go to Salem!” Without hesitation, we booked a ticket to Salem and rent a house through Airbnb. It cost us around a hundred dollars for both the house and the roundtrip ticket per person.
By the time we arrived in Salem, it was around 4 PM, and the summer sun was getting low. We decided to throw all the bags in the house and started the journey before sunset! The entire town is full of witch statues and dolls. Some were like those pointy-nose witches you have seen in the movies, and others were like fairies.
This town is more like a tourist spot for American people around MA as we barely saw other Asians. That night we didn’t just go to bed because we were in Salem! We should befriend the darkness, right? Thus, we went for a night tour at 8 PM. There was still some light out, so it was not completely scarily dark. The guide’s storytelling was so amazing that everything seemed REAL!
“The guy told me sometimes he saw a headless ghost through that window…”
She kept pointing to the old, ruined, and dusted buildings. She told us which building was used for caging suspected people. To be honest, it was not scary at all, but the story was so much fun and exciting. If you ever get bored in Salem at night, please consider this option!
On the next day, we went to a random breakfast place. It was funny that one of the waiters seemed surprised to see these four Asians in town. After we were fully energized, we went to see the area outside downtown. Some places are not quite related to the witches and pretty costly, so we decided just to walk past by. However, we spotted a lighthouse near the beautiful sea area on the way back to downtown. That seems to be a good ending to the trip, but we forgot that we forgot to do something important! Yep, we forgot to visit some of the witch museums! We did not know which one is the best witch museum, so we just walked into the most scary-looking one. Inside, there was not much to do. There was no exhibition; instead, we were seated in the middle of the darkroom, still. Then, the show began. A spotlight went to each corner of the room, showing some scary scenes made of wax. It was short but quite worth it. Since the train to Boston was not there till in the afternoon, we decided to go to the Peabody Museum of Art, which has nothing to do with the witches. All in all, this town was great for a short visit. A day or two should be enough. Although many stories of this town are not so believable, I really like how they wickedly used their dull history for boosting their economy.
From July 1st to 6th, we embarked on a trip from Sacramento, driving over 2600 miles to explore five incredible National Parks across Nevada, California, and Oregon. Our adventure took us from the ancient bristlecone pines of Great Basin and the volcanic landscapes of Lassen to the brilliant blue waters of Crater Lake and the towering giants of the Redwoods. Along the way, we balanced raw wilderness hikes with unforgettable stops for local donuts in Portland, a coastal drive down the Pacific shoreline, and a wine tasting at a Tuscan castle in Napa Valley.
The Canadian Rockies had never truly been on our radar, not for lack of awareness, but simply because we never imagined we’d have the opportunity to visit Canada. That changed entirely when I was invited to the prestigious Women in Numbers workshop at the Banff International Research Station. Seizing the moment, we decided to turn this milestone trip into a grand adventure, arriving a few days early to explore not just Banff, but a stunning circuit of five neighboring national parks, including, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier, Mount Revelstoke, and Kootenay.
One of the most popular National Park routes that Poy and I hadn’t tackled yet was the Utah ‘Mighty Five.’ We’d heard nothing but non-stop hype from friends, and after checking off several harder-to-reach destinations, we decided it was finally time to go for it! We initially tried to squeeze in Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but a car shortage at the Las Vegas airport left us with an electric vehicle. As it turns out, there are no non-Tesla charging stations near Great Basin (aside from one incredibly slow charger), so we pivoted. We ended up focusing solely on the five Utah gems, which actually made for a much more relaxing, less rushed experience.
There are not many national parks that are ideal to visit in winter, except for those in the desert. For this Christmas trip, we chose three desert national parks, namely, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, and Joshua Tree. In addition to these, we also stopped by some of the most iconic landmarks in Arizona’s desert landscape, including Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley. It was a dry, sandy, and breathtaking Christmas. One that turned out to be truly memorable for both of us.